The Freethinking Christians' Quarterly Register

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ON RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.?Essay v. THE JEWISH TEMPLE. What is man? Where must he find his Maker ? with what rites Adore him ? Will he hear, accept, and bless ? Or does he sit regardless of his works ? ?Tis Revelation satisfies all douhts.?Cowper't Task, Book II. Our last Essay (vol. i. p. 321) was directed to...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ON RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.?Essay v. THE JEWISH TEMPLE. What is man? Where must he find his Maker ? with what rites Adore him ? Will he hear, accept, and bless ? Or does he sit regardless of his works ? ?Tis Revelation satisfies all douhts.?Cowper't Task, Book II. Our last Essay (vol. i. p. 321) was directed to prove, that the practice of public social, or joint prayer was not instituted by Moses, or afterwards, by divine direction, introduced into the Tabernacle worship. In pursuance of the plan of argument previously laid down, (see vol. i. p. 215) we have now to inquire, Whether or not that practice was introduced into, or formed apart of, the Temple worship? All, or nearly all, that we have said respecting the tabernacle, equally applies to the temple worship. The tabernacle was a tent?the temple a palace; the one a temporary?the other a stable abode; each being successively chosen as the place of deposit for the ark, in which the children of Israel regarded Jehovah, their God and King, as being miraculously present. Each, therefore, was the seat or centre of both political government and religious worship. Within each Jehovah was, consequently, consulted by the priest, the judge, or the ruler; before each, sacrifices or offerings were made, and, in or towards each, the prayers or petitions of the people were allowed to be presented to their God and King. It is in the last of these respects, that the Jewish temple becomes connected with our present inquiry. Was the authorised prayer of that temple joint or separate was it individual or social ? These are the questions which remain for solution in the course of the present Essay. Amongst the advocates of social prayer there exists the greatest possible difference of opinion on this point; some positively assert...